Fernando Castro - Chula Vista, California

Well Fernando, I think this one is actually pretty simple, though I will have to give you the Stage Racing for Idiots version, since I was definitely NOT paying attention in any of my science classes.

You've perhaps heard that people who chronically diet typically have problems keeping the weight off after they quit the diet, often gaining back more weight than they lost. Sometimes it's just that since they've starved themselves (or eaten horribly boring food) while on the diet, as soon as they stop they eat like crazy, killing all benefit of the original suffering. More often than that though, their bodies react to the end of the famine by storing lots of calories. The metabolism slows down.

I think the same is true in stage races, but since the stage racer is starving him/herself even while eating just about everything in sight, the calorie/fat/fluid storage is much more intense. I once finished a 2 week stage race and flew home to Belgium immediately after the finish. The next morning I was back at the airport and on my way to the southern France for a 8 day stage race that started the very next day. The travel day was long so I wasn't able to get on my bike at all. On day one of the French race I was completely bloated and stiff. The legs felt completely blocked. What's worse, I felt as if I hadn't been on a bike in weeks - like I'd completely forgotten how to ride.

Another part of it is what happens to the legs of a stage racer. Lots of junk is being built up on a daily basis - stuff that we try to flush out via massage, lots of water and yes, exercise - even if that exercise is the next stage. When you give all that junk an extra day to fester, there will be hell to pay. I always rode best when I got to the point, physically, where I only felt good when I was on my bike - when the simplest things, like getting out of bed required extra effort. Maybe it was just because I'd become brain dead and was operating on autopilot.

When you're riding a heavy schedule of races and/or the big stage races, you're so tuned in to your body that you can literally feel the tiniest little weight gains and any other kind of change, so the habit of going on a good ride during the rest day has emotional reasons too. You have it in the back of your mind that with everyone rested and fresh, the day after the rest day is going to be a killer and you might need to be able to go from the gun. Keeping the legs moving during the rest day is usually the best way to feel your best for the day after.

There are some riders, however, who choose to do nothing. Joop Zoetemelk allegedly just stayed in bed all day and ate a couple pieces of toast. Personally, I'd rather get out in the air and be on my bike, but it seemed to work for him pretty well.

This is obviously no stage race, but pretty neat to watch. I just wish they could've pronounced his name right.